Scammers Listened Through Computer As Suffolk Detectives Stopped $140K Gold Scheme

HAUPPAUGE, NY — An elderly Suffolk County woman was preparing to convert approximately $140,000 of her savings into gold for scammers when two detectives arrived at her home and discovered that the fraudsters were secretly listening to their conversation through her compromised computer, officials said Monday.

Detectives Thomas Perillo and Anthony DeLuca of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit stopped the woman from completing the purchase, canceled two checks and helped return the money to her account before a courier could arrive to collect the gold, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

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Perillo, DeLuca, and their supervisor, Detective Sergeant Tom Gabriel, were honored on Monday in Hauppage for their intervention efforts and officials proposed legislation intended to disrupt what officials described as a growing gold-bar scam targeting older residents.

No arrest has been made and the investigation remains pending.

The scheme began when a pop-up appeared on the woman’s computer and she responded to someone purporting to provide technology support, Tierney said.

She was told that her computer had a virus, her bank accounts had been compromised and she needed to move her money into gold to protect it.

The scammers instructed her to purchase a one-kilogram gold bar and later surrender it to a courier who would supposedly place it in a secure location. In reality, officials said, the courier would have taken the gold and the woman likely would never have recovered her savings.

A bank investigator became concerned after learning that the woman was having checks issued to purchase precious metals and contacted police, Gabriel said.

Perillo and DeLuca then went to the woman’s home while she was still in the middle of the scheme.

At first, the woman, whom officials said is an elderly resident of Western Suffolk County, was reluctant to explain what was happening because the scammers had warned her to keep the transaction secret.

Gabriel said that reaction is common because fraudsters spend hours or days isolating victims and undermining their trust in anyone who might intervene.

“These scammers are masters at psychological manipulation, and what they will do is they’ll have these people convinced that we’re the scammers, not them who are on the other side of the phone,” Gabriel said.

The detectives continued speaking with the woman until she acknowledged that she had responded to the computer pop-up and had been instructed to purchase gold.

As they explained the scam to her, Perillo realized that the people controlling or monitoring the computer connection could hear what was being said inside the home, Tierney said.

Perillo unplugged the computer, severing the connection. DeLuca contacted a bank representative and had two checks made out to a gold company canceled, allowing the approximately $140,000 to be returned to the woman’s account.

The detectives also helped the woman establish two-factor authentication, arranged for her accounts to be flagged for suspicious transactions and had her computer examined for malware and other malicious software, officials said. The scammers had planned to send a courier to her home the following evening to retrieve the gold.

Gabriel described the intervention as 'a close call.' The woman had begun the purchasing process but had not yet handed over any gold when police stopped the transaction.

“She thought that she was buying this gold in order to protect her assets,” Gabriel said. “They say that your assets are at risk. You need to liquidate those assets into precious metals. Most of the time, it’s gold. Then turn that gold over to them, and they will protect it for you.”

Officials Warn Of Growing Gold-Bar Scheme

Gabriel estimated that Suffolk police have encountered more than a dozen gold-bar scams during the past year, though officials did not provide an exact number of reported cases, completed losses or attempted transactions.

“I would say probably more than a dozen in the past year, and then there are all different kinds of scams, be it wire transfers or gift cards,” Gabriel said. “But the gold bar and the precious metals are the up-and-coming scam.”

Tierney said the schemes frequently begin with an unsolicited telephone call, text message, email or computer pop-up. The person contacting the victim may pose as a police officer, government employee, bank representative, financial adviser, or technology-support worker.

The scammers claim that the victim’s accounts, identity or computer have been compromised and warn that the money must be moved immediately. They may direct the victim to liquidate checking and savings accounts, investments, bonds or retirement funds and use the proceeds to buy gold, gemstones, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

Once the asset has been purchased, the victim is instructed to give it to a courier for supposed safekeeping.

The scammers often remain in continuous contact with the victim, pressure the person to act quickly and insist that the conversation and financial transaction remain confidential, officials said. Some spoof legitimate telephone numbers so a caller-identification display appears to show a government agency, police department, bank or other trusted institution.

“They’re trying to compress the time, raise the pressure, so these, mostly elderly individuals, make a decision without consulting anyone or without having the time to think clearly,” Tierney said.

Officials warned residents who receive such communications to end the conversation and independently contact the institution the caller claims to represent. Residents should not use a telephone number, email address or link supplied by the person contacting them, he said.

“If somebody asks you to liquidate your assets and buy gold, it’s always a scam,” Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. “Every single time, it’s a scam.”

Officials said artificial intelligence and other technology are making fraudulent communications more convincing. Families are asked to discuss the schemes with older relatives and anyone else who may be vulnerable.

Tierney said residents should contact law enforcement immediately even if money, gold or another asset has already been surrendered. Investigators may be able to freeze a transfer, cancel a transaction or recover funds before they are moved beyond law enforcement’s reach.

“A few extra minutes of caution can protect a lifetime of savings,” Tierney said.

Scammers Can Be Difficult To Identify

The people directing the schemes frequently operate outside Suffolk County and, in many cases, outside the United States, Tierney said. They may use burner phones, concealed internet addresses and remote-access software that allows them to monitor or control a victim’s computer.

Couriers sent to collect cash or gold may have limited information about the larger operation and could believe they are being paid only to pick up and deliver a package, Tierney said.

Once the property has been collected and the electronic communications stop, investigators can lose their primary connection to the organizers. Because of those challenges, Tierney said, financial-crimes investigators often focus on stopping payments and recovering assets before they disappear rather than relying solely on arrests after a loss.

Bill Would Require Warning Signs, Waiting Period

Legislators Stephanie Bontempi and Dominick Thorne are proposing a local law that would add protections for consumers aged 60 and older to Suffolk County’s rules governing precious-metal and gem exchanges.

The draft legislation, titled “A Local Law Protecting Consumers Aged 60 and Older from Gold Bar and Precious Metal Courier Scams,” would add a new Section 563-49 to the Suffolk County Code.

Licensed dealers would be required to prominently display a warning sign measuring at least 8½ by 11 inches and printed in at least 22-point type. The sign would tell customers that anyone directing them to convert their savings into gold is attempting to scam them.

It would also warn that banks and government agencies will not contact residents and instruct them to buy gold or precious metals; that scammers may claim the purchase must be completed immediately and kept secret; and that customers should never surrender physical gold or cash to a courier or stranger.

The proposal would impose a 48-hour hold on any bullion purchase exceeding $50,000 when the customer is a first-time buyer.

For transactions above $50,000 involving a purchaser aged 60 or older, dealer employees would also have to conduct a brief interview. The proposed questions include why the purchase is being made, whether it is the person’s first precious-metal purchase, whether someone instructed the customer to buy the metal, whether the customer was told to give it to someone for safekeeping, the source of the funds and whether the person has placed additional gold orders with other dealers.

The answers would have to be documented and signed by the purchaser. Dealers would be required to maintain the document with their other mandated transaction records.

The draft’s legislative findings say Suffolk County already licenses dealers that purchase secondhand precious metals but that the county code does not specifically address retail bullion sales to consumers—the type of transaction exploited by the gold-bar scams.

The findings cite more than $26 million in courier-related losses documented by the FBI’s Boston Division over roughly two years, approximately 98 percent of which was reportedly lost by people older than 60. The proposal also cites Federal Trade Commission data indicating a more-than-fourfold increase in older adults losing large amounts of money through impersonation schemes.

The bill’s stated intent also calls for employee training, a reporting channel, legal protection for dealers that refuse or delay suspicious transactions and a public-awareness campaign.

“We do believe that putting signs in stores at eight and a half by 11 signs with 22 fonts saying this is a scam will help educate that last stop before they try to lose their life savings,” Thorne said.

County Executive Ed Romaine said he would sign the legislation once it reaches his desk. If adopted, the local law would take effect immediately after it is filed with the New York Secretary of State.

Residents who believe they are being targeted should stop communicating with the suspected scammer and contact someone they trust or the Suffolk County Police Department Financial Crimes Unit at 631-852-6820 and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Financial Crimes Bureau at 631-853-5602.